an exceptional case of healed vertebral wound with trapped

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An Exceptional Case of Healed Vertebral Wound with Trapped Bronze Arrowhead: Analysis of a 7th–6th c. bc Individual from Central Kazakhstan Tur, S. S., Svyatko, S. V., Beisenov, A. Z., & Tishkin, A. A. (2016). An Exceptional Case of Healed Vertebral Wound with Trapped Bronze Arrowhead: Analysis of a 7th–6th c. bc Individual from Central Kazakhstan. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 26(4), 740-746. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2470 Published in: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology Document Version: Peer reviewed version Queen's University Belfast - Research Portal: Link to publication record in Queen's University Belfast Research Portal Publisher rights Copyright 2016 Wiley. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. Please refer to any applicable terms of use of the publisher. General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Queen's University Belfast Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The Research Portal is Queen's institutional repository that provides access to Queen's research output. Every effort has been made to ensure that content in the Research Portal does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you discover content in the Research Portal that you believe breaches copyright or violates any law, please contact [email protected]. Download date:16. Mar. 2022

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An Exceptional Case of Healed Vertebral Wound with Trapped BronzeArrowhead: Analysis of a 7th–6th c. bc Individual from CentralKazakhstanTur, S. S., Svyatko, S. V., Beisenov, A. Z., & Tishkin, A. A. (2016). An Exceptional Case of Healed VertebralWound with Trapped Bronze Arrowhead: Analysis of a 7th–6th c. bc Individual from Central Kazakhstan.International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 26(4), 740-746. https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2470

Published in:International Journal of Osteoarchaeology

Document Version:Peer reviewed version

Queen's University Belfast - Research Portal:Link to publication record in Queen's University Belfast Research Portal

Publisher rightsCopyright 2016 Wiley. This work is made available online in accordance with the publisher’s policies. Please refer to any applicable terms ofuse of the publisher.

General rightsCopyright for the publications made accessible via the Queen's University Belfast Research Portal is retained by the author(s) and / or othercopyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associatedwith these rights.

Take down policyThe Research Portal is Queen's institutional repository that provides access to Queen's research output. Every effort has been made toensure that content in the Research Portal does not infringe any person's rights, or applicable UK laws. If you discover content in theResearch Portal that you believe breaches copyright or violates any law, please contact [email protected].

Download date:16. Mar. 2022

1

Title: An Exceptional Case of Healed Vertebral Wound with Trapped Bronze

Arrowhead: Analysis of a 7th – 6th c. BC Individual from Central Kazakhstan

Running title: A Case of Healed Vertebral Wound with Trapped Bronze Arrowhead

Authors: Svetlana S. Tura, Svetlana V. Svyatkob*, Arman Z. Beisenovc, Aleksei A. Tishkind

a. Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography of Altai, Altai State University, Leninskiy

prospect, 61, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation b. 14CHRONO Centre for Climate, the Environment, and Chronology; Queen’s

University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern Ireland, UK c. Institute of Archaeology n.a. A. Kh. Margulan, 44 Avenue Dostyk, st. Shevchenko 28,

Almaty 050010, Kazakhstan d. Department of Archaeology, Ethnography and Museology; Altai State University,

Leninskiy prospect, 61, Barnaul 656049, Russian Federation

*Correspondence to: Dr. Svetlana Svyatko, 14CHRONO Centre for Climate, the

Environment, and Chronology; Queen’s University of Belfast, Belfast BT7 1NN, Northern

Ireland, UK.

Tel.: +44 (0)28 9097 3974

E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Projectile injury caused by an arrow shot is a common skeletal marker of interpersonal

violence in archaeological populations. The injuries of the spine were usually fatal. Only few

reports on healing of the vertebra pierced by flint arrowpoint can be found in bioarchaeological

literature. This paper presents an exceptional case of a healed trapped bronze arrowhead wound

in the spine of a 7th – 6th c. BC elite nomad from Central Kazakhstan. Computed radiography

and tomography as well non-destructive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry provide detailed

information about the context and mechanism of the injury.

Key words: arrowhead, arrow wound, spine, Central Kazakhstan, Early Iron Age

Introduction

Projectile injury caused by an arrow shot is a common skeletal marker of interpersonal

violence in archaeological populations around the world (e.g. Lambert, 1997; Guilaine, Zammit,

2005). Arrowheads embedded in the human bones are generally very difficult to extract (Bill,

1862). If the vital organs were not damaged, the foreign object lodged in the bone usually gets

obliterated, indicating total recovery (Wilson, 1901). The injuries of the spine were lethal in most

cases (Rokhlin, 1965; Atkinson, Evans, 1978; Polos’mak, Molodin, 1981; Reuer,1984; Stork,

Wahl, 1988; Etxeberria et al., 1991; Campillo et al., 1993; Armendariz et al., 1994; Schutkowski

et al., 1996; Lambert, 1997; Guilaine, Zammit, 2005; Jurmain et al., 2009; Meyer et al., 2009;

Silva, Marques, 2010; Vegas et al., 2012; and others). Only few reports on healing of the

vertebra pierced by flint arrowpoint can be found in bioarchaeological literature (Wilson, 1901;

Jurmain, 2001; Jurmain et al., 2009; Vegas et al., 2012). This paper presents an exceptional case

of a healed trapped bronze arrowhead wound in the spine.

Material and methods

2

The anthropological material comes from kurgan 1 of the Koitas cemetery in Central

Kazakhstan excavated in 2011 (Figure 1). The kurgan belonged to the Early Saka nomadic

aristocracy and was completely plundered in ancient times. Only few disarticulated human bones

(a vertebra, ribs, and fibulae) have been recovered from the filling of the burial pit (Figure 1S).

They have been AMS radiocarbon dated to the 791-536 cal BC (UBA-23664; Beisenov et al., in

prep.).

Only the body of the vertebra, yet exposing sagittal cut by a sharp tool (добавьте, что

случайно поврежден при раскопках), was available for the morphological analysis (Figure 2a).

Two antemortem injuries can be observed macroscopically – the vertebral body was lodged by

an arrowpoint, and one rib has a well-defined callus of new bone, which usually forms around

the fracture. Computed radiography (CR) and computed tomography (CT) were used for better

visualization of the arrowhead and detailed examination of the injury.

Siding and sequencing of the isolated ribs being essential for determination of the exact

location of the chest trauma, and for sex and age estimation of the individual was carried out

according the morphological criteria by Mann (1993), Dudar (1993), Jellema et al. (1993) and

certain metric dimensions by Hoppa & Saunders (1998), Owers & Pastor (2005), Cirillo &

Henneberg (2012).

Sex and age at death of the individual were determinated from the sternal extremity of the

fourth rib (Işcan et al., 1984; Işcan, 1985). The estimation of the stature of the individual was

based on the length of fibula (Sjovold, 1990).

In order to evaluate the risk of metal intoxication of the body, chemical composition of the

arrowhead was determined by non-destructive X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry applying

the Innov-X Sistems portable analyzer. Three samples were measured from the arrowhead – two

in the pure metal and one in the corrosion crust.

Results

Gross visual examination

It has been determined that the human remains belonged to a male of 25-45 years old, ca. 174

cm tall.

The majority of the ribs have been preserved, excluding right 11th and 12th and left 6th and

10th ribs (Figure S2). The 4th right rib demonstrates an antemortem fracture.

Obviously, the vertebra shows an anatomical transition between the thoracic and lumbar

patterns. The size and shape of the body are similar to those of the lumbar vertebrae. However

the body bears a single large costal facet on each side, extending on to the part of the pedicle

(Figure 2a). As such, the vertebra can be identified as T11 or T12. The two corresponding ribs

available make it possible to determine more precisely the position of the vertebra. The left

articular facet on the body of the vertebra is congruent with that of the 11th rib head, but not of

the 12th rib, which suggests that the considered element is T11.

Schmorl’s nodes are located in both cranial and caudal vertebral endplates. The vertebra also

exhibits slight horizontal lipping on the superior and inferior margins and a large osteophyte

along the left anterolateral aspect, which has a characteristic shape of a «bird’s beak», with its

free end directed to the nearest intervertebral space (Figure 2a). On the left side of the vertebral body, near its lower edge and under the articular facet, there

is a rounded deep cavity (6-7 mm in diameter) with smooth margins of remodeled bone and an

end (presumably tip) of the bronze arrowpoint inside. The other end of the arrowpoint is visible

in the deepening on the right side of the vertebral body near its upper edge and immediately

anterior to the articular facet. It is almost entirely covered with a new bony formation (Figure 3).

From the postmortem sagittal cut of the vertebral body it also appears that the arrowhead is

walled off from the cancellous bone by a thin solid bony layer (Figure 3a).

3

Computed Radiography and Tomography

The CR confirmed that the arrowhead pierced the vertebral body from right to left and from

above (approx. at 21° angle), close to its dorsal surface. Clearly, it consists of a warhead,

possibly damaged, and a tang. No osteolytic lesions related to the object are detected from the

radiographs. The thin sclerotic rim immediately adjacent to the arrowhead is badly visible also

(Figure 2d, e).

CT scans demonstrate that the warhead is triangular in cross-section with its edges rolling in

the narrow blades, and the tang, relatively wide and circular near the warhead, gradually tapers

and flatters towards its free end (Figure 6). The arrowhead has the total length of 56 mm and the

maximum diameter of 10 mm. The CT images further show that the very point of the warhead is

broken and the outer layer of the warhead flakes off in some places (Figure 4a). Graphycal

reconstruction of the arrowhead was made based on the CT scans (Figure 4b).

Archaeologically, the arrowhead is dated to the second half of 7th – first half of 6th c. BC

(Čugunov et al., 2010).

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry

The results of XRF analysis indicate that the arrowhead is made of copper (Cu) alloy with

high tin (Sn) content; lead (Pb) and iron (Fe), being impurities, constitute in average 0.12 and

0.23wt% respectively (Table 1); no presence of other elements has been detected. The outer

corroded layer consists of pure copper (99.85%) with traces of Fe (0.15%).

Discussion

The penetrating and destructive effect of a projectile depends primarily on its velocity,

weight, and design. The arrowhead lodged in the thoracic vertebra of the individual from the

elite kurgan of the Koitas cemetery belongs to a military form – it is made of bronze with high

level of tin, which is hard and can produce very sharp blades, and has widening of anterior part

of the tang, increasing the kinetic energy and, consequently, the penetration power of an arrow.

Removing arrowheads was often a difficult task, partly because of the construction of the

arrows. The tanged arrowhead fit usually into a slot at the end of the shaft and was tied with

narrow animal tendons and sinews. When the arrow penetrated the body, the tendon got wet

from its contact with blood and other bodily fluids and was lengthened, as a result of which the

arrowhead would become loosened and readily detached. It was left within the victim’s body if

the shaft of the arrow is pulled out (Bill, 1862).

As CT scans have shown, the warhead was damaged. It was probably broken by the contact

with the bone at the moment of an impact. Although high-tin alloy can produce very sharp blades

for cutting the soft tissues, the downside is that it tends to be more brittle at the hit in hard

tissues. Mechanical damage of the warhead appears to have accelerated the corrosion of metal,

which usually occurs in vivo (Jacobs et al., 1998).

Arrow wounds to the thoracolumbar spine are at risk for life-threatening damaging the heart,

lungs, major blood vessels and bowel. They were usually fatal due to immediate massive

hemorrhage or subsequent peritonitis. The incidence of septic complications was significantly

higher in the lumbar spine than in thoracic one. The pathway of an arrow within a body is

important – if a projectile perforates hollow viscus before entering the spine, there is a higher

risk of developing secondary spinal infections (Romanick et al., 1985; Isiklar & Lindsey, 1998; de Barros Filho et al., 2014). Besides, bacteria could be further carried into the wound by

contaminated arrowhead itself. In cases of arrow wounds penetrating the chest if the victim

survives the period of hemorrhage and the arrowhead has not lodged in the lung tissue, the

consecutive inflammation is usually trifling (Bill, 1882).

4

Expectedly, the arrowhead penetrating the vertebra induced an inflammatory reaction that led

to a resorption cavity associated with peripheral sclerotic formation (osteomyelitis). However,

the cavity surrounding the foreign body can only be observed visually on the sagittal cut of the

vertebra. Both CR and CT failed to identify the bone injury as cavitation. Unfortunately, at

presence of metallic foreign bodies, CT images are often obscured by artifacts and conceal

details (Boas & Fleischmann, 2012). The entrance hole on the right side of the vertebra was

affected by the sclerotic healing process, whereas the opening on the opposite side appeared as a

drainage sinus. The inflammatory reaction may have occured in response not only to mechanical

irritation and bacterial contamination of the arrowhead but also to its corrosion product (Roy et

al., 2012).

Metal projectile retained within the body can lead to both systemic and local intoxication of

tissues. The location of the projectile is crucial. Animal studies have demonstrated that copper

can cause a severe local necrosis of both brain and spinal cord tissue but only if located

intradurally (Cushid & Kopeloff, 1968; Tindel et al., 2001). A number of cases of systemic lead

poisoning, also known as plumbism, have been reported in the medical literature for patients

with retained bullets in the spine (Machle, 1940; Linden et al., 1982). Bullet in close proximity

to facet joints or the intervertebral disc is more likely to develop this complication (Machle,

1940; Grogan & Bucholz, 1981). However, low lead concentration in the copper alloy of the

analysed arrowhead, as well as its location in the vertebral body without contact with the spinal

cord, seem to have excluded the risk of metal intoxication in the individual from Koitas.

Besides the arrow wound of the spine the analysed individual had also a well-healed fracture

of the 4th right rib. These traumas could have been suffered at the same or different times. Rib

fractures may results from accidents during daily activities or interpersonal aggression (Lovell,

1997).

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian

Federation grant 14.Z50.31.0010 (project “The Earliest Colonization of Siberia: Formation and

Dynamics of the North Asian Cultures”). We would like to express our thankfulness to Dr. G.G.

Kravchenko (Tomsk State University) for providing us with map, Dr. S.A. Pechenin (City

Hospital № 1, Barnaul) for CR and CT images, and Dr. A.L. Kungurov (Altai State University)

for the graphic reconstruction of the arrowhead.

Supporting Information

Additional supporting information may be found in the online version of this article at the

publisher’s web site.

Figure 1S. Plan and cross-section of the grave, kurgan 1 of the Koitas cemetery.

Figure 2S. Ribs from the filling of the grave (Koitas cemetery kurgan 1), placed in

anatomical order; dorsal view.

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Table 1. Chemical composition of the arrowhead

Sample

no.

Cu

(wt.%)

Sn

(wt.%)

Fe

(wt.%)

Pb

(wt.%)

1 80.98 18.74 0.23 0.05

2 78.99 20.61 0.22 0.18

7

3 99.85 0 0.15 0